Werth Leads Huskers in Sweep of Colgate

Irvine, Calif. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team completed the first of two matches on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-19, 25-13) of the Colgate Raiders at the Bren Center on the campus of UC Irvine.

Hannah Werth led Nebraska in the match with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Allison McNeal came on strong to record 10 of her own. Lauren Cook notched 38 assists, help NU to a .369 hitting percentage for the match. Lara Dykstra tabbed 11 digs, and Nebraska out-blocked the Raiders 9-2 and held them to just a .083 hitting percentage.

The Huskers opened the first set with a 3-2 lead on a kill by Gina Mancuso, while a service ace by Dykstra gave Nebraska a 6-3 advantage. A long rally resulted in a kill by Werth to give NU a 10-7 lead. The Huskers went up 13-8 before Colgate called a timeout. A service error by Colgate made it 16-9, Nebraska, before Strange punched in a kill of her own. A service ace by Werth put Nebraska up by 10 at 19-9. Alexa Strange and Cecilia Hall then teamed up for a block, giving Nebraska a 22-10 advantage before the Huskers went on to take the first set 25-12.

In the first set Werth led Nebraska with five kills, while McNeal had four kills. Cook tabbed 12 assists as Nebraska recorded a .433 hitting percentage. The Huskers held Colgate to a .032 hitting percentage, while out-digging the Raiders 14-13 and out-blocking Colgate 3-0.

Nebraska opened the second set on a kill by McNeal to give Nebraska 2-1 lead. A solo block by Hall put NU up 5-2 before Colgate called a timeout after NU went up 11-5. Back-to-back kills by Mancuso put NU up 13-5. A kill by Hall made it 18-10, Huskers, before Werth's kill put NU ahead 20-10. Colgate went on a seven-point run, closing the Huskers lead to 21-18. Mancuso sealed the second-set victory (25-19) for the Huskers with a kill, giving Nebraska a 2-0 lead in the match.

McNeal and Werth both had four kills in the second set, while Strange tallied three kills. Cook notched 13 assists as Nebraska hit .324 in the set. Colgate hit just .083 and totaled one team block, while Nebraska had three team blocks.

The Huskers came out in the third set, taking a 7-3 lead on a kill by Hall. Colgate took a timeout, trailing 10-4 after Cook and Hall teamed up for a double-stuff block. The Raiders scored three consecutive points before a kill by Werth put NU up 12-7. With an explosive kill by Strange, the Huskers went up 19-11. Nebraska closed out the third set with a 25-13 win aided by an ace from Werth. With the win, Nebraska swept Colgate 3-0.

In the third set Werth led NU with six kills, while Kelsey Fien came in for four kills of her own. Cook notched 12 assists as the Huskers recorded a match-high .417 hitting percentage in the set. The Huskers tabbed three blocks and 16 team digs. Nebraska held Colgate to a .138 hitting percentage.

Nebraska will continue the action tonight at 10 p.m. CT, when the Huskers take on the UC Irvine Anteaters.